In 2006 Genevieve Adetoro was arrested while at work. Like many others, Genevieve has been criminalised for doing nothing other than trying to make ends meet and provide for herself and family. She took on work in 2004 following her husband being diagnosed with vertigo and a heart condition. She was sentenced to imprisonment in 2007 and whilst inside suffered a stroke.

But Genevieve’s ordeal was only just beginning. Once she had served her sentence Genevieve was not released back to the care of her family and community in Luton where she has lived since 1996, rather she was transferred to Yarlswood Detention Prison (or what the government calls an Immigration Removal Centre) where she has been incarcerated since 10 July, 2008. She is now subject to potential deportation, although as far as we are aware removal directions have so far not been issued.

Since her stroke Genevieve’s condition means that she should have access to 24 hours a day care. She is paralysed on her left side and in a wheel chair. She has Cranio-Vertebral Anomolies, Angina, Hypertension, Cell Anaemia, Osteo Arthritis and Depression. She takes 15 different kinds of medicine a day.

She is dependent on others for help with her personal care, such as bathing, feeding and dressing. Genevieve has no assigned carer at Yarlswood. Instead she has to rely on the goodwill of other migrants imprisoned at Yarlswood for support. There are times when she has been left in her incontinence pad unable to change it herself. Sometimes she has missed meals because there was nobody to support her. Sometimes, other inmates have been woken up at 3.00am to assist her.

Worryingly, her medications have often been administered very late, once as late as 2.00am. She has been left in the lift for one hour unattended and due to the poor standard of care has fallen on a number of occasions. On one occasion when she called for help following a fall from from her bed only an officer turned up and said Health Care was too busy stating:

“I’m all you’ve got we are short staffed”

The officer then proceeded to lift Genevieve all by herself on to her bed.

Another fall resulted in her being taken to hospital. When she was discharged at about 1am the Doctor asked if they have transportation to take her back and the detention centre guards said yes. However, the transport used was completely inadequate. Instead of a specialist vehicle a mini-bus usually used to transport visitors to Yarlswood was used.

Genevieve was then lifted by three guards into the bus. One held on to the right leg and the other the left foot while the third put his hand around her armpit covering her bust and threw her into the van at the count of three. There was no seat belt so she had to lie on the lap of one of the guards for the one hour journey back to the centre. The same procedure was used to take her off the mini-bus on arrival at the centre. All of this was excruciatingly painful for Genevieve and went against all protocol for how someone in her condition should be treated.

Following visits from friends and family Genevieve has sometimes had to wait over an hour for someone to take her back to her room sitting in a puddle of urine. She has developed bed sores and rashes.

When she has complained about her appalling and demeaning treatment, one officers said:

“what’s so special about you?”

Genevieve finds her situation extremely frustrating and it is taking its toll mentally. She has expressed the wish that she were dead. Not surprisingly it is the expert opinion of several Doctors that detention is no place for a person in her condition.

Genevieve has not seen her children since her incarceration and her husband is worried about the emotional effect it will have on them seeing her in such a poor state.

Recently a judge refused Genevieve bail on the grounds that her house needs to be adequately fitted with equipment before she can go home. Social Services went to inspect the home but because of her legal status said they could do nothing to help. Catch 22.

Most absurdly, the UK Borders Agency have argued for her continued detention stating that Genevieve is likely to abscond. Ye you heard correctly. A wheelchair bound, physically disabled person, who can hardly move out of bed without support. The mind boggles.

In a recent edition of the New Statesman Liam Byrne, Minister for Immigration, made the following statement:

“I know our contract staff in removal centres provide care with the utmost sensitivity and compassion in really difficult circumstances, because I have studied the situation at first hand. It’s why medical care at a removal centre is as good as it is on the NHS.

At Yarl’s Wood – where most families are housed – there is 24-hour nursing care with 14 nurses, two doctors on call day and night, as well as social workers and dentists.”

Who’s he trying to fool? And if Genevieve’s word isn’t good enough for you, only last month we reported on the announced inspections of two privately run detention prisons, one of which was Yarlswood, which provided damning evidence of the treatment of those incarcerated within them and the poor level of health provision inside.

If Genevieve were to be deported she would be subject to the kind of ‘double punishment‘ that is typical of the increasingly punitive migration regime that is emerging both within the UK and across the whole of the EU. While these forms of deportation have been in place for some time, recent legislation has tightened things even further. Since August 2008, as part of the UK Borders Act 2007, ‘Non-British’ and ‘non-EEA’ citizens, who have been sentenced to a year or more in prison, regardless of how long they have been in the UK and regardless of how valuable their work is to the local community, can, following their prison sentence, be deported. Unless, that is, they can show that this would breach their human rights, which is far easier said than done. Even those with a British born partner and children can be deported, with the partner and child expected to uproot themselves to live wherever their partner or parent is to be deported.

“an immigration removal centre can never be a suitable place for children”

Anne Owers, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons.

Two recent reports on full announced inspections of two privately run detention prisons provide extremely damning evidence of the treatment of asylum applicants incarcerated within them. The report on Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre and report on Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre were both carried out by Anne Owers, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons. These are the places where single women and families – men, women and children – are locked up, often for extended periods of time, despite having never committed any crime, apart from coming to the UK in search of a better life. Both reports focused particularly on the effects that such imprisonment has on children.

Some key findings from the report on Yarl’s Wood

Escort vehicles with caged compartments were inappropriately used to transport children

the average length of children’s detention had increased and this had a detrimental effect on children and their families

overall provision of health services was a concern

Children staying for more than a few days received an unsatisfactory educational experience and there were few activities outside school hours

There was no evidence that children’s individual needs were systematically taken into account when decisions to detain were made. Our interviews with detained children illustrated the effect of sudden arrest and detention on their well being and reflected how scared they were while held in detention

The standard of care delivery was reasonable for basic primary care, but some serious gaps in provision, including poor access and communication, impacted negatively on detainee wellbeing

Services for children were under-developed

Some key findings from the report about Tinsley House:

Our principal concerns about safety related to children. While staff in the family centre made considerable efforts to support children and their families, they could do little to mitigate the damaging effects of their detention

We were disturbed to observe some unprofessional conduct by external escort staff

We were particularly troubled by the plight of single women …the conditions for single women were extremely poor …Their situation should be addressed as a matter of urgency

there were examples of detainees given tranquilisers inappropriately without their consent

Prolonged detention was not adequately explained or reviewed. When detainees made bail applications for independent review of detention by a court, BIA disclosure was sometimes prejudicially late and inaccurate

there had been no progress on substantive areas of care since inspectorate recommendations as far back as 2002

Both these reports highlight the terrible conditions and human rights violations that asylum applicants must endure within detention centres, and as the final quote from the Tinsley House report highlights, nothing much has improved since the last inspection. The idea that such places could ever be made happier, more caring, or humane is pure fantasy. You know what we think. Close all detention prisons!

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Pregnant mother Kemi Ayinde and family have been told this week that their application for a Judicial Review of their asylum claim has been refused. They are liable to be detained and deported at any time.

The family returned to Cardiff three weeks ago after being detained in Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre in Bedfordshire, after being snatched by UK Border agents from their home in the early hours of 17th June this year.

Two attempts were made to deport the family in July but after a high profile campaign and an application for a Judicial Review, the family were released.

Kemi has been told that the baby is not growing normally and her pregnancy may have to be terminated. Her GP and midwife have both stated that they believe that the problems she is having with her pregnancy have been caused by the stress and shock of being detained and threatened with deportation.

Kemi’s partner Taiwo has volunteered with Sue Ryder Cancer Care in Cardiff in the past and is due to begin volunteering with the Big Issue Cymru next week. He says

“Me and my family hope to be able to stay in Cardiff where we have made many friends and where we feel welcomed.”

The removal of Kemi, Taiwo and Yasim was cancelled for today. The family were due to be removed on this morning at 10.15am on Virgin Nigeria flight VK292 from Gatwick North Terminal.

They are now in Yarl’s Wood detention prison, and their legal team has started the process of setting up a High Court judicial review. While this review is in process it makes it more difficult for the Home Office to remove them from the UK, making the family’s position slightly less precarious than it has been until now.

Kemi is heavily pregnant, and has recently encountered complications which make it difficult for her to stand without assistance. They were due to be flown back to Nigeria on a BA flight last week but, after a barrage of calls, faxes, and e-mails from friends and supporters, the family was taken off the aeroplane at the last minute and returned to detention. Now they have had another last-minute reprieve, and hopes are high that a convincing case can be made to allow them to return to Cardiff.

British Airways plane leaves without deportees

The family were not deported today as the home office had planned. Though they were taken to the airport at 6am this morning and actually boarded the plane bound for Nigeria. On board the plane Kemi said she overheard British Airways staff talking about ‘all the phone calls’ before informing the family that they were unable to fly them as they had been advised she was not fit to travel. Kemi was admitted to hospital Monday afternoon and though discharged late Monday night she is still suffering with serve back pain. None of the family has had their malaria immunization, which the Home Office has a duty to provide when travelling to Nigeria. The malaria immunization process requires a period of two and half weeks for a pregnant woman.

Tuesday morning we contacted the British Airways Pre-Medical Clearance Unit about the family’s case to alert them of our concerns about their health should they be deported. We passed the contact details on to our email list and asked people also raise their concerns. We believe it was this direct pressure from the local community on the airline to refuse to comply with the immoral wishes of the Home office that stopped this deportation.

Of course the family’s case is not over; they are currently imprisoned in Yarlswood detention centre (pictured), without legal representation and still with the threat of immanent deportation hanging over them. No Borders South Wales have been in regular contact over the phone and along with members of the local Nigerian community in Cardiff are in the process of getting proper legal representation for the family. As of yet Kemi and Taiwo haven’t been given any further details about what the Home Office is going to do with them. Detainees are required to be given their removal details at least 72 hours before there is an attempt to deport.

Thank-you to everyone who got in contact, especially with the airline, it can get results. If anyone would like to get more involved with deportation campaigns either with No Borders or just learn what they can be effective with over the phone/internet please get in contact, and if you can, come along to the No Borders Public meeting this Thursday.

There is now a page at the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns about this case. check it out here.

URGENT: HELP STOP AN IMMINENT DEPORTATION

Kemi Ayinde is a 24 year old woman from Nigeria who was trafficked to the UK seven years ago and forced to work in London as a prostitute.

Taiwo Salami is her partner, also from Nigeria with whom she has an 18 month old daughter Yasmin Salami. The family’s claim for asylum has been refused and they were snatched from their home in Cardiff on 17th June 2008 are are currently being detained in Yarlswood Detention Centre. Their removal is scheduled for Tuesday 1st July on a British Airways flight.

Kemi is 5 months pregnant and is experiencing complications, not able to stand up without holding onto something. Her 18 month daughter is suffering a painful skin complaint. The family have not received appropriate medical care whilst in detention. They also haven’t received the anti-malaria immunisation they are entitled to in order to go this region.